'Lost' Star Hears a 'Whisper'

[Sydney]

'Lost' Star Hears a 'Whisper'

Thu, Jun 02, 2005, 02:06 PM PT
By Kate O'Hare

For his hiatus from "Lost," Josh Holloway has chosen to be far away from tropical beaches and palm trees as he can. After all, he's spent the last nine months on Oahu filming the hit ABC drama about plane-crash survivors stranded on a mysterious tropical island, so he's now in the mood for tall mountains and pine forests.


"I am loving Vancouver," Holloway says, calling during a break in filming. "The Pacific Northwest is insanely beautiful."

Holloway is currently at work on "Whisper," a psychological thriller directed by Stewart Hendler from a screenplay by newcomer Christopher Borelli for Gold Circle Films and H3f Entertainment. Also starring are Michael Rooker ("The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay") and Sarah Wayne Callies (The WB's "Tarzan").



Holloway plays Max, who embarks on what he thinks is a simple kidnapping-for-ransom scheme, snatching 10-year-old David (Blake Woodruff, "Cheaper by the Dozen"), the only son of a wealthy Vermont socialite. Unknown to Max, the seemingly shy David actually has a hidden agenda and a mysterious way of getting into minds of others.

"The interesting part about this movie for me," Holloway says, "is that the bad guys are not so bad, and the good guys are the bad guys. What appealed to me as an actor, this guy is not a bad guy. He messed up in his life, and he's had his life taken away. He had to go to prison. He never got to really live.

"Now he's found love in his life, which has given him a reason to live. So he's fighting for love by doing something extremely evil, like kidnapping a kid."

On the surface, Max doesn't seem all that different from Sawyer, Holloway's character on "Lost," a handsome, sarcastic con man with a vulnerable side.

"I guess so," Holloway says, "but Max is not cocky. He doesn't want to do this. He's trying to get it done and get on with life, with the positive side of life. To me, he's fighting for love by doing something wrong, and the other guy, being the innocent victim, is actually the predator in this."

After the quick pace of television, Holloway is having a hard time getting used to film's more leisurely schedule.

"I'm bored," he says, "and that is my fault. I have to learn how to do movies now as well. You have to figure out ways to keep your creative focus. I have a guitar. I've read two books now."

Complicating the issue is the zero-to-sixty career trajectory Holloway experienced during the first season of "Lost," which catapulted the former model from near obscurity to TV sex-symbol status.

"It's been a whirlwind," Holloway says. "When you're on that level of vibration, performing constantly, it's easier to stay at that pace than to drop off and slowly go through something. I've found it difficult."

In fact, Holloway auditioned for "Whisper" the day after appearing at a screening and Q&A session for "Lost" held during the Museum of Television and Radio's Paley Festival in March, an evening event that had fans camping out in the auditorium lobby at the crack of dawn.

"I thought," Holloway says, "I'm already in town, might as well read for it and see what happens, and that's what happened."

When the time came to start on "Whisper," Holloway says it was tough to shed Sawyer and step into Max. "I wrapped 'Lost' the day before I got here. There was absolutely no time. So the first three days, I struggled with doubt. I guess I was trying maybe to put too much difference in there.

"It's always a shame, because once you get into the skin of the character, you're like, 'Can we go back and film that again?' That's where you have to trust your work and trust the director. It was difficult, but now it's not. I got him."

A favorite moment for many "Lost" fans is when Sawyer pulls off his shirt, which he did most recently in the show's finale, showing off washboard abs. That might not quite be the case in "Whisper."

"I had to do a shirt off for this one," he says, "and I chose for him to be not so in shape. He's an ex-con, he's not all that. He's not out of shape, but he's not that guy."

Holloway has no plans to regain his chiseled physique anytime soon, either. In his brief time off before "Lost" starts at the end of July, Holloway and his wife are planning a long-delayed honeymoon, driving an RV across Alaska.

"I'm going to let it go in Alaska," he says. "I'm going to get round and fat as a tree trunk if I can. I'll get in shape later."

Actually, just before he hangs up, Holloway reveals that he's getting in a little practice for his new, rotund look.

"I've got to go in there and be Santa Claus today," he sys. "I'm in a little fat-belly suit. I am Santa Claus talking to you right now. I've got my furry boots on and my red pants and my fat suit. My beard and my hat I took off so I could talk. But it's all there."



Note: http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/story/0,...--25905,00.html